The flight back to Air Temple Island went by in a blur, her vision fading in and out the entire trip. It hadn't been until she was safe in Oogi's oversized saddle that she'd allowed herself time to breathe or relax, and the moment she did it all came crashing down on her. She'd never been so bone-tired in her life. Everything ached. Everything hurt. And there were faces. So many faces. She caught glimpses of Tenzin and Lin arguing. Bolin's anxious face in the back of Oogie's saddle. Asami huddled to the side, her face stoic and unreadable. For a moment she was sure she saw Aang, heard his voice gently tell her to breathe. Naga howled from somewhere below, following them. It was all too broken and disjointed. And Mako, always Mako. Somehow he was everywhere. He'd said she was safe now, and despite everything, she felt it. He was saying something now but her vision was slipping again and the darkness creeping into the edges of her eyes was so comforting. Mako's face blurred then, his eyes wide with fear. Why was he afraid? The dark was nice. It was warm. And she'd been so cold in the snow. She'd been fighting so long…all she wanted to do now was sleep. And then the dark took her and she knew no more.
LoK_Lok_Lok
The sky bison landed just outside the temple dorms with a rumbling thud and was immediately swarmed with people. White Lotus guards surrounded them on all sides as the group climbed down off Oogi's back and it was all Pema could do to keep her worried children from storming the group. Tenzin flipped off of his animal guide's head in a whirl of wind, his air nomad robes flowing about as he rushed to see to Korra. But Mako, who had stayed practically glued to the Avatar's side, was already carefully carrying her into the temple, the White Lotus guards moving with him step for step. No one was getting near the Avatar and Spirits help anyone who tried. Tenzin watched the boy go and felt his heart sink at the sight of Korra, so broken and beaten down. His children broke free from their mother and sped towards him, bombarding him with questions he didn't have the heart to answer just yet. Pema joined him then and gently rested a hand on his arm.
"Is she ok?" She asked gently. He felt his throat tighten but managed a nod in affirmation. Korra was strong, she would be ok. He couldn't have been prouder of her if she'd been his own daughter. Prouder…or more terrified. Pema hesitated as she watched her husband, knowing he would blame himself for things going so horribly wrong. "Are you ok?" Lin Beifong stepped up beside Pema then and sighed, watching the last of the White Lotus guards march into the Temple behind Mako and Korra.
"Perhaps we should move this inside," she said tiredly. "There's a lot we all need to discuss." Bolin and a quiet Asami joined them just as Pema started to usher her indignant children back to their rooms.
"You three should get some rest, it's late," she said sternly. She had expected protests from Ikki and Meelo but when her normally obedient eldest daughter set her jaw she knew she was beaten.
"We're just as worried about Korra as the rest of you. You can't honestly expect us to be able to sleep with everything that's going on. We promise we won't get in the way, we just want to know Korra is ok." Jinora stared her mother down stubbornly and Pema sighed, turning to Tenzin for help. He eyed his three children wearily for a moment before his shoulders slumped.
"Fine, fine," he sighed, waving his arm dismissively. "But don't interfere with the healers," he added sternly. The children all agreed fervently and were off at a run before the rest of the group could blink. Lin watched the three go in surprise.
"Those kids of yours really love Korra, don't they," she said, a tired smile tugging at her lips. Before Tenzin could reply he was interrupted by Bolin's less than subtle throat clearing.
"We all love Korra, so d'you guys think maybe we could go make sure she's ok? Mako's not exactly a bang up healer and she looked pretty beat up." He motioned wildly with his arms as he spoke, as was typical of the emotive earthbender.
"You're right, of course," Tenzin agreed. "Korra needs to be seen to. We can discuss all of this later." With that the lot of them followed the White Lotus guards into the temple dorms, heading straight to Korra's room.
LoK_Lok_Lok
Mako had Korra secured in his arms before Oogi's feet had even touched the ground. When Lin Beifong had broken them out of prison he'd thought this whole nightmare with Tarrlok was over, but then she'd said Korra had been abducted by Amon and it was as if the ground had disappeared out from under him. The last time he'd been so completely terrified and panicked, he'd been watching his parents get cut down by a firebender thug. There was no way in hell he was letting anything happen to Korra now that he had her back, not after he'd come so close to losing her. By the time Oogi had come to a complete stop he was already carrying her off the saddle and toward the Air Temple. He barely noticed the White Lotus guards file in around him, Korra's own personal honour guard. She'd seemed ok when they'd found her. Beaten, exhausted, but awake and responsive. But then he'd laid her down in Oogi's saddle and he'd watched her practically sink into herself. He'd tried to keep her awake while Tenzin and Lin yelled at each other over where to go but all the energy had drained out of her and it was a constant fight to keep her conscious.
He remembered Lin arguing that Korra needed to go to the hospital while Tenzin insisted they had perfectly capable healers on the island and Korra needed somewhere safe and stable to rest. Mako hadn't really cared what they decided, so long as they got there fast. When Korra's entire body seemed to go limp he'd felt the panic rise in his throat again and he'd desperately told her to stay awake, keep her eyes open, but they had drooped and then shut and she hadn't stirred since. Even now, moving as fast as he could without jostling her and with the White Lotus detail impeding him, he was panicking.
She needed to wake up. If he lost her now after everything he'd done to find her and everything she must have been through to escape… But then he was outside her room and one of the guards was sliding the paneled door aside for him while another ran further down the corridor to fetch the healer.
"You're going to be ok," he heard himself whisper. "You have to be ok, Korra." There was no time to contemplate losing her when he was rushing to get her settled on the bed with just enough time to tenderly brush back her hair before a stern woman came bustling into the room and shoved him aside. He yelled in protest when the guards started pulling him out of the room and struggled to get back to her. He wasn't about to leave her now, not when he'd promised her she was safe. He needed to be there to make sure she was safe! He fought and struggled, but without his firebending (he didn't dare risk using fire in a room made primarily of wood and paper paneling) he couldn't hold off four White Lotus guards all at once and they dragged him bodily out of the room. The second he was set down once more he made a break for the doorway, catching a brief glimpse of Korra's still face before the panels were slammed shut and two of the guards planted themselves firmly in front of it. He could see the glow of the healer's bending shine through the paper of the paneling and he bit his lip hard enough to taste blood. She was hurt. He needed to be in there!
"Get out of my way!" He snarled, glaring at the two guards darkly. They weren't intimidated and he cursed in frustration when they simply stood their ground against his fiery rage. By the time the airbender kids arrived, followed shortly by Tenzin and the rest of the group, Mako was quite literally fuming. His fury was setting off his firebending and steam was starting to hiss out of his knuckles. Bolin ran up to his brother first, the others keeping a safe distance from the enraged bender.
"Mako! Bro calm down! You're gonna set this whole place on fire," he said, grabbing his brother's shoulders and turning him away from the door. "Take a deep breath man, c'mon." Mako glared at his brother for a minute before he exhaled deeply and let his shoulders sag, exhausted and defeated. For now.
"There," Bolin said brightly. "Much better. Relax, bro. Korra's tough, she'll be fine." Tenzin stepped forward then and Mako turned to look up at the old airbending master.
"Is the healer with her now?" He asked seriously. Mako nodded and turned back to the door.
"She had these White Lotus clowns toss me out as soon as she got in there," he said irritably, motioning to the guards with an angry gesture that released a puff of dark smoke from his knuckles again. Tenzin nodded in approval and then turned to look at the rest of the group.
"There isn't much we can do for Korra now. The healers will let us know when she's strong enough to see us. Lin, I believe we have some calls to make. This whole mess should never have happened," he said seriously and Lin folded her arms stoically.
"Agreed," she replied. "We're going to have to work with that fool of a chief. I'll contact him right away." She turned to leave but paused to look back at Mako and Bolin. Mako was only half listening now, his eyes focused on the door so she directed her question to his younger brother. "Let me know how Korra is, won't you?" Bolin glanced back at Mako, who had sunk to the floor with his back to the wall opposite Korra's room and nodded.
"We're not going anywhere. We'll come get you guys as soon as the healer finishes fixing her up." He was grinned confidently, ever the optimist. "Korra will be up and kicking Equalist butt before you can say Pro-Bender!" Lin smirked at the young earthbender and nodded her acceptance before leaving. When she was gone, Tenzin turned to his wife and rested a hand on her arm.
"You should get some sleep, dear. All of this excitement isn't good for the baby." She glared at him then and rolled her eyes.
"I'm not about to let you go and stew in your office, Tenzin. I'll make us some tea and we can get started with all the calls and paperwork." She turned to Jinora and frowned at her oldest daughter. "The second you hear about Korra I want the three of you in bed!" She snapped and, when Ikki made to protest she pointed at her violently, her face stern to the point of being comical. "I mean it young lady!" Ikki quailed under her mother's stair and ducked her head.
"Yes mum," she muttered, cowering behind her older sister and staring shiftily at the floor. It wasn't until Tenzin and Pema had both left that Ikki turned big, worried eyes up to Bolin. "Is Korra gonna be ok? She looked really hurt! Did that funny smelling man named Tarrlok do that? We were all so scared when Daddy called to get the healers ready. Is she gonna make it?" Ikki spoke so fast that is was hard to follow most of her questions but Bolin, being a fellow motor-mouth, had no trouble keeping up. Meelo had fallen asleep on the floor next to Mako but Jinora stepped closer, appearing as concerned as her younger sister so Bolin bypassed most of Ikki's questions, deciding instead to answer the most important one. He gave them both a bright, encouraging smile and slugged an arm over Ikki's shoulder.
"Are you kidding me? Of course she's gonna make it! This is the Avatar we're talking about here. Didn't you hear Chief Beifong? Korra's tough as nails!" He pumped his fist in the air to emphasize his point. "No way is Korra gonna let Tarrlok beat her down!"
"She did though, didn't she." They all looked up at the quiet words to see Asami leaning against the wall a little way down the corridor, her arms folded and her face hard. Her eyes were cast down but she looked up at them almost darkly before she spoke again. "Korra is supposed to be the Avatar, she's supposed to be protecting us. But she let Tarrlok defeat her and carry her off to Spirits know where. We ran all over town to look for her and put our necks on the line in some dingy Equalist prison for nothing and Naga was the one that ended up saving her in the end." The silence in the corridor was deafening. No one spoke for a moment, all of them too shocked by the venom in Asami's words to react. But then Mako was on his feet once more, glaring at his girlfriend.
"What is your problem? Korra's hurt! She's been through hell and you're acting like she did all of this on purpose!" He snapped angrily. Asami turned angry eyes on her boyfriend and pushed away from the wall to glare at him.
"My problem? What's your problem? Have you noticed how you've been acting lately? Ever since Lin told us what was going on you've been completely focused on Korra. It's like you're obsessed! You've been acting like a scared boyfriend! Except it's like she's the one you're dating!" She motioned furiously towards Korra's door as she spoke, her wild hair flying about her shoulders. "Exactly how long have you been in love with her?" Mako took a step towards Asami and his glare deepened.
"Korra risked her neck to help us. She went to Tarrlok to get us of jail. She has done everything she can to be a friend to you, Asami. She took us all in when we had nowhere else to go, despite everything that's happened between all of us. She put aside her own feelings to make sure we were all happy, or had you forgotten all of that?" Asami seemed to balk at that but she frowned, hurt now.
"Have you forgotten why I have nowhere else to go? I lost everything because of her, Mako and now she's taking you too. It isn't fair…" There were tears gathering in her eyes and she folded her arms more tightly around herself, the position becoming almost protective when it had been stubborn before. Mako seemed to deflate at this and he sighed, running his fingers through his hair in frustration.
"Your dad made his own choices, Asami. It isn't Korra's fault he got involved with the Equalists. You know that. I'm sorry, about all of this, but you know that none of this is her fault." He turned away from her then to look at the door and folded his own arms to mimic her. "If anything, it's my fault. I let this whole situation between us get confused and out of hand. It isn't fair but now isn't the time to be arguing about it. Korra needs us right now." He turned to look at her again, his eyes pleading now. "All of us. I can't leave her now, not when she needs me." Asami shook her head as the tears she'd been holding back finally slipped free. This wasn't how she'd wanted to confront him about her suspicions. Not when they were both so emotional and certainly not in front of his brother, Tenzin's young children and a pack of White Lotus guards. Embarrassed and ashamed of herself, she turned and bit her lip sadly.
"I'm sorry," she muttered thickly. "I…I can't be here right now." And then she was gone, running as fast as she could to the little room Korra had shown her just a few days ago. Mako watched her go and let out a frustrated groan, flopping back onto the floor to face Korra's door once more. He let his face fall into his hands, resting his elbows on his knees. Bolin was staring at him with wide eyes, his mouth open in shock. He looked down at his sullen brother and let out a low whistle.
"Woah…"he muttered. "Girls, man. Girls." Mako let out a tired, half-hearted chuckle at that.
"Yeah, no kidding."
LoK_Lok_Lok
She ached. She ached everywhere. In the dark, that was all she could think about. The dark had been comforting before. Warm and welcoming, a reprieve from all the pain and exhaustion. She had gone into it willingly, too tired to do anything else. But now, after who knew how long, all the dark did was make her ache. Everywhere. It was oppressive and suddenly she felt like she was closed in. Trapped. She was back in the box. Panic welled up in her chest but she couldn't fight, couldn't move. She ached and she panicked. But then someone was stroking gentle fingers through her hair and she heard quiet muttering somewhere above her and the sound was somehow soothing. She didn't recognize the voice, it was too faint to make out, but she knew that, whoever it was, they were looking out for her. She was safe. Someone had promised she was, hadn't they? And then the darkness was suddenly comforting again and she let it take her for a while more. She was still so tired. So very tired. And everything ached.
LoK_Lok_Lok
It had been a long night. The healer had come out to tell them all that Korra would be fine not long after his confrontation with Asami and then promptly sent them all to bed. Or at least, she'd tried to send him to bed. His emotions had already been stretched thin by that point and when he threatened to electrocute the lot of them to get through, the healer had grudgingly allowed him into the room, citing she'd rather he sit there quietly than disturb Korra's sleep with a temper tantrum. He hadn't really cared what she thought, only that she let him through. And so it was that he found himself on the floor at the foot of her bed. He had his back pressed to the wall and his head bowed, his exhaustion creeping into his very bones, no matter how hard he fought it off.
He glanced up at her and his throat tightened. She looked so small…so vulnerable. It wasn't her. Korra was strong. She was stubborn and cocky and she never backed down from anything. She was amazing. She was invincible. And yet here she was, broken, defeated. It scared him, knowing how close it had all been. She could have been spirited away somewhere they would never find her. She could have had her bending taken away. She could have died. And that thought, more than anything, terrified him. Thinking of her as anything but completely untouchable was terrifying. He'd almost lost her. Tough, bold, amazing Korra. He could have lost her forever. He didn't know how long it had been since he'd been left alone with her, several hours for sure, but it didn't matter. He had no intention of leaving now. He'd made a complete mess of things and he knew he'd have a lot to answer for when it was all over, but this was more important right now. He would fix things, with her and Asami, but he would fix them later. For now he would wait and watch and keep her safe.
At some point in the night, he heard Tenzin outside the door, asking the guards, who hadn't left either, how Korra was doing. After a brief exchange Tenzin left and it was quiet again. The healer came in a little later, to check on Korra and glance at him briefly, but she left too. He hadn't moved much since he'd sat down and she hadn't so much as twitched. The room was perfectly still. So when she shifted in bed he was beside her in a heartbeat, the tiny movement such a sudden contrast to the stillness that it was impossible to miss. He assumed she was dreaming. Or having a nightmare judging by the frown on her face. His heart ached for her; she'd been through too much too fast. She stirred restlessly and a quiet moan rushed past her lips.
"Easy," he whispered, reaching up to gently brush back her hair. "It's ok, you're safe now." He let his fingers trail across her cheek and into her thick curls. He hadn't seen her with her hair down before and now it was splayed all about her head like a halo of wild, untamable chocolate. Her hair was far softer than he would have expected. It was difficult to associate something so soft with someone so hard. And yet, it seemed right. Because she was soft. Her tan skin. Her dark curls. Her blue eyes. Her infuriating, stubborn heart. All of it. She was the toughest, hardest person he knew, but everything about her was soft.
"You're a confusing mess, you know that?" He said with an affectionate smile, his fingers still working through her curls. He watched her relax and his smile widened when the frown eased from her face and she became still once more. He settled down on the floor again, this time sitting right beside her head, pressing himself between her bed and her little wooden night stand.
He didn't remember falling asleep, but when he blinked, the room seemed a little brighter than it had before. The sun had started to rise. He sat up and stretched, sunlight filtering through the paneled window and groaned quietly when he heard his back snap and crack with the movement.
Had that been what had woken him? His back was stiff but sleeping on the floor like this wasn't exactly new to someone who'd grown up on the streets. No, it had to have been something else. And then he heard it. A quiet sound to his left. He was instantly alert then. The sunlight was coming in at just the right angle to fall across her face and Korra frowned slightly. She turned her head away and let out a tiny murmur of complaint. It was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard. He was off the floor before he knew what he was doing and then he was sitting on the edge of her bed. She shifted again, her eyes fluttering a little before she blinked slowly. And then she was looking up at him, confused, exhausted, but gloriously awake.
"M…Mako?" Her voice was hoarse and she sounded weak, but she was speaking and nothing had ever sounded sweeter.
"I'm here," he said quietly, reaching down to touch her face, her neck, her hair. "You should rest." She frowned and swallowed, trying to clear her throat. It didn't help.
"What happened?" She hated how weak she sounded. But he didn't seem to care. He was smiling down at her like she was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen and it brought a light flush to her cheeks. He wasn't supposed to be looking at her like that. Exhausted and disoriented as she was, she knew that much. And yet somehow she couldn't find it in herself to care right then. "Where is everyone? Are they all ok?" He seemed genuinely shocked that she'd asked and then he laughed. "What's so funny?" She glared at him irritably and shifted backward until she was propped a little more upright on her pillows, wincing with the movement. Spirits, she felt like she'd lost a wrestling match with Naga. He was helping her settle back before she had even gotten all the way up right, grinning at her irritation.
"It's just so typical of you," he said with an amused snort. "You're the one lying here, beaten up with everyone worried about you and you're asking if anyone else is hurt." She bit her lip, trying to fight back the flush creeping further down her neck. Worried. He had been worried. She remembered now. Remembered the relief she'd felt when Oogi had landed there beside Naga in the streets. The relief she'd felt when she'd seen Tenzin and Lin running towards her. The relief she'd felt when he'd pushed his way past two master benders to get to her. And then he'd smiled at her and held her close and told her he'd been worried and that she was safe.
Korra had never been the kind of girl who wanted to be rescued. She'd been taught to fight her whole life. She'd been trained in all forms of bending and martial arts. She'd been taught how to survive. She could take care of herself. And yet, after everything she'd been through, after the fight, the box and coming face-to-face with Amon again, all she had wanted to do was let him carry her off and protect her from everything. She was tired of fighting so hard. She could let him help her. He was watching her closely and she just knew he was going to be annoyingly protective for a while. It made her smile.
"Are you ok?" He asked then and she wasn't sure how exactly to answer him. Was she ok? She ached everywhere and moving hurt but pain she could handle. She'd grown up with aches and pains almost everyday thanks to her rigorous training. She wasn't really sure how she felt emotionally. Meditating while she'd been trapped had helped keep her calm, but it hadn't exactly made her fearless. Hearing Amon telling his chi-blockers to electrocute her in that box, knowing that if they did she would lose everything…that was something she knew she'd be seeing in her dreams for a while to come. But for now, with everything behind her, safe in her own bed, with Mako sitting beside her, she decided she could be ok. He had worried enough, so she would be ok.
"Yeah," she replied eventually. "I'm fine." He smiled brightly at that, letting out a relieved "good" and reached out to lightly brush his fingers across her cheek. The half-healed cut there stung a little but it didn't bother her as much as the tender gesture did.
"Mako, you shouldn't do things like that." She looked up at him forlornly and swallowed the lump building in her throat. "Asami…"
"Asami and I are over, Korra. It's a mess and there's a lot I need to make up for, but it's over. I shouldn't have let things between us go on so long. I've been lying to myself, and her. It wasn't right." He looked away then and sighed, running his fingers through his hair, a frustrated habit he'd picked up recently. "I kind of made a mess of things between all of us, didn't I?" It wasn't a question, not really. She wouldn't have known what to say anyway. Korra had never had trouble speaking her mind before. Hell, she'd outright told him that she thought they were meant to be together. But now, with all this confusion between the three of them, she just didn't know what she could possibly say that would be in any way helpful. She felt awful. Asami cared about Mako; that much was obvious to anyone with eyes. Mako made her happy and, despite her own jealousy and how much it had hurt to see them together, Korra wanted them to be happy together. Who was she to decide Mako was hers? If he was happy with Asami then she would be a good sport about it. And yet somehow she had broken them up, despite trying very hard not to get involved. The guilt was overwhelming and she felt her breath hitch and her eyes sting.
"I'm a terrible person," she mumbled quietly. So quietly Mako almost missed it. Almost.
"What? What are you talking about?" He asked incredulously. She really couldn't understand his confusion. It was plain enough to her.
"It's all my fault. Asami cares about you, Mako. She needs you, especially after everything she's been through. And I ruined that. I…I'm an awful, selfish person." She shut her eyes tightly and turned away from him. She didn't want him to see her cry. "I really am the worst Avatar ever. I'm supposed to help people, not ruin their lives. She must hate me now…"
"Korra." His voice was hard, stern even. She looked up, startled at his tone and found him glaring at her irritably. "You are the most stubborn person I have ever met. Asami isn't the only person involved in this. She isn't the only one who matters. And she definitely isn't the only with a lot to deal with. And it is not your fault. It's mine. I told you a long time ago that I had feelings for you too, but I didn't want to get involved with you then because we were team mates and there was all that drama with Bolin. Everything was so confusing and I thought, maybe if I focused on Asami I wouldn't have feelings for you anymore. I tried to convince myself I didn't. But I was just kidding myself. You're not an awful person. You're amazing. And I'm an idiot." He reached out to her and pulled her into his arms, holding her close. The gesture was so tender it nearly broke her heart. She wrapped her own arms tightly around his waist and pressed her face into his shoulder, tears stinging at her eyes again. "You are not the worst Avatar ever. Don't ever say that. You're brave and kind and you care about people. You don't have to do everything alone. I'm not about to make the same mistake twice here. You're stuck with me, Korra. And that means you're stuck with Bolin too. We're all here for you, remember? The new 'Team Avatar'. We'll help you, no matter what it takes." He pulled away from her and let her sit back against her pillows, giving her a little space to try and subtly wipe away tears he knew she didn't want him to see. "I suppose asking you not to be so reckless all the time would be pointless, wouldn't it?" She chuckled at that and shrugged helplessly.
"Would I be me if I didn't get us all into a mountain of trouble all the time?" He grinned and rolled his eyes.
"Probably not," he admitted. "But, could you at least leave a note or something next time you get kidnapped? I don't think I have it in me to go through that again." He was joking, but she knew he'd meant it too. He'd been truly terrified that she'd been hurt, or worse. He cared about her that much, and knowing that made her feel infinitely better.
"Next time I'll remember to stop and ask my kidnappers to draw you a handy little map," she said, pretending to draw one in the air with a little flourish. They were interrupted by a knock on the door and she assumed it could only be Tenzin. No one else bothered waking up this early. When Mako stood to slide the panel door aside Tenzin stepped into the room and let out a relieved breath at the sight of Korra awake and alert.
"The guards said you were awake. How are you feeling?" He moved past Mako, nodding a greeting at the young firebender before he leaned down to look more closely at Korra. "Are you in any pain?"
"I'm fine, Tenzin, really." She paused for a second and frowned. "I suppose we have a lot to talk about." He nodded grimly and sat down on the edge of the bed. She turned to Mako and smiled at him weakly.
"You should go," she said gently. "You have some things you need to go sort out. We can talk later." He didn't miss the significance of that statement. They had a lot to talk about too. But first he needed to fix the mess he'd made. He winced at the thought and folded his arms.
"Guess you're right about that," he groaned, sounding uncomfortable with the very idea. "I'll be back in a while." They shared a look before he turned to leave, pausing at the door. "I'll let Bolin know you're awake. He'll be glad to shove it in my face that I was worried for nothing." He winked and she laughed as he left before turning back to Tenzin. He looked so serious and grim and she sobered immediately. They watched each other for a long moment, neither sure where to start. Tenzin looked so serious…so upset. Korra could feel the words and the guilt bubbling up in her throat and it all spilled out before she could stop herself.
"I'm so sorry! I know I never should have gone to see Tarrlok on my own like that. I'm really, really sorry, Tenzin. I'm reckless and stupid, I know. I just…I had to do something! I couldn't just leave them in there and –" He cut her off with a steady hand on her shoulder and sighed heavily.
"It was foolish of you to confront Tarrlok on your own like that, Korra," he said seriously. "It was dangerous and reckless, but there was no way you could have known what he was. He fooled us all. That loathsome criminal sent us on a wild turtle-duck chase to cover his tracks and we all played right into his hands. You cannot blame yourself for not seeing what people, far older and wiser than you, didn't see either." He eyed her seriously to make his point. "Now, tell me what happened. How did you escape?" Talking about it was easier than she'd thought it would be. She found that if she swallowed her emotions and pressed them far enough down, she could talk about it all without melting down. She explained all about her meditation and the complete visions she'd seen. He didn't seem too shocked to find out about Tarrlok's relation to Yakone, but she realized that he must have figured that out himself when Tarrlok's little secret had gotten out. He tensed up when she explained how Amon had arrived, taken Tarrlok's bending and then told his chi-blockers to electrocute her metal prison to knock her out. That led to her brief encounter with Amon outside the little hut and Naga finding her at the bottom of the hill. By the end of her story he was deep in thought, and she wondered what he was trying to piece together from what little she could tell him.
"Tenzin, you said that Tarrlok sent you guys on a 'wild turtle-duck chase'? What did you mean by that?" She asked curiously. His face reddened and she wondered if it was from anger or embarrassment.
"Tarrlok made it look like Amon had captured you. He planted evidence and fed us a story about being attacked by Equalists. Lin was the one who broke your friends out of jail so they could help us find you." He smiled at that and Korra grinned.
"The chief actually broke into her own prison? Woah." She hadn't given much thought to the fact that Mako and the others weren't behind bars but hearing that Lin had actually broken them out was humbling. She had a lot of people looking out for her.
"Yes," Tenzin agreed. "I was rather shocked to find them all in my office. We all believed Amon had you imprisoned somewhere so we tracked down an Equalist hideout and broke in." Korra's eyes widened and she raised her eyebrows at her airbending master.
"You guys went through all that trouble, just to find me?" She swallowed hard, trying to bite back a sudden swell of emotion, touched that they had risked their own safety to ensure hers.
"Of course we did," Tenzin said as if it should have been obvious. "Korra, you aren't just an apprentice. You're family. We all love you, none us would ever let you get hurt. You can be so infuriating sometimes, and yes, reckless, but I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of you. My father would be too. My mother was right, Korra, you're going to make an amazing Avatar." That did it for her. The flood of emotions she'd been carefully damming since she'd woken to Mako's concerned face burst and suddenly she was sobbing. She threw herself into his arms, in much the same way she had on Aang Memorial Island all those months ago, and she wept.
"I don't know what I'm doing, Tenzin," she cried, clutching his robes as he held her comfortingly. "I'm messing everything up! Everyone else thinks I can do this, but I'm so scared. I'm scared I lose. If Amon wins…" She shook her head desperately and he pushed her up so that he could look her in the eye.
"Listen to me, Korra. You don't have to have all the answers. My father let the people around him help when he was lost. You're allowed to ask for help. I know you feel like you have the world on your shoulders, but you don't have to bear all the responsibility on your own." She swallowed thickly and wiped her eyes. He was smiling at her and gave her shoulder a reassuring pat. "If I'm not mistaken, your friends are more than willing to help you." She nodded at that.
"Mako said pretty much the same thing," she admitted sheepishly. Tenzin gave her a side-long glance and she could almost see the wheels turning in his head.
"That Mako boy seems particularly interested in your well-being." He eyed her curiously and she felt her cheeks heat up once more.
"You really wanna talk to me about boys, Tenzin?" She smirked at his suddenly uncomfortably expression and allowed herself an uncharacteristic giggle when he cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Yes well…you should get some rest. When you, uhm, feel well enough, we can talk more about what happened." He seemed to be looking everywhere but at her now and she smiled, wiping away the last of her tears.
"Thanks, Tenzin," she said, smiling at him sadly. "For everything." This brought a genuine smile to his face.
"You're very welcome, Korra." When he left and she was alone, she let herself flop back on her pillows and took a deep, shuddering breath. She felt cleansed somehow. Like allowing herself to let out all those emotions had freed her of some burden she hadn't realized she was carrying. Things really were going to be ok. Here in her room, with things so messed up, fresh cuts and bruises still aching and so much still to do, she knew she'd be fine as long as she had her friends and her family. As long as she had them and him…she could do anything. She could handle being the Avatar.
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(This was originally going to be a one-shot, but it just kept getting longer and longer and there are still quite a few things that need to be settled before I can comfortably end this. So now my little one-shot story has become a two-shot and, depending on how the next chapter and the next episode play out, it may continue past that as well. You'll have to forgive me if the plot seems a little broken. I haven't written anything of significant length in a long time. Most of my writing projects these days involve short newspaper columns and proof reading the work of journalists. Also, doesn't seem to like asterixes so have some LoK paragraph breaks)